Patriots Never Recover From Slow Start, Lose 24-3 To Rams On Thursday Night Football
BOSTON (CBS) -- Coming off a 45-0 blowout victory over the Chargers on Sunday, positivity was at a three-month high for the Patriots heading into Thursday night's game against the Rams in Los Angeles.
Yet instead of carrying over some of that dominant momentum, the Patriots got bowled over to start the game and never recovered, eventually losing 24-3 to the Rams.
Cam Newton was just 9-for-16 for 119 yards with no touchdowns and a costly interception that was returned for a touchdown. He ran for just 16 yards on seven carries before being taken out for Jarrett Stidham in the fourth quarter.
Jared Goff completed 16 of his 25 passes for 137 yards with one touchdown and one interception for the Rams. Rookie Cam Akers ran for 171 yards on 29 carries.
The Rams scored on the opening possession of the game. They got into the red zone quickly, too, with Goff completing a 25-yard pass to Tyler Higbee on their first play, and Cam Akers running for 35 yards on L.A.'s second play. Jonathan Jones and J.C. Jackson combined to stop Cooper Kupp at the 1-yard line on third-and-goal, but a Goff QB keeper on fourth down got the Rams into the end zone for a 7-0 lead.
The Patriots went three-and-out on their first possession, gaining just a single yard. The Rams then put together another scoring drive, highlighted by three Akers runs (for 29 yards) and a 14-yard connection from Goff to Robert Woods on a third-and-12. After coming up short on a third-and-18, the Rams settled for a 35-yard field goal from Matt Gay to take a 10-0 lead.
The Patriots went three-and-out again on their second possession, but undrafted rookie cornerback Myles Bryant came up with an interception on an underthrown third down pass from Goff. Bryant initially returned the pick 32 yards for a touchdown, but a review showed Bryant was down by contact where he made the pick.
The positive spirits were short-lived, though. After two Damien Harris runs (for 13 combined yards), Newton faced pressure and forced a screen pass to Harris a split-second too early. Partly due to Aaron Donald disrupting his route, the running back didn't have his head turned for the pass, which sailed directly into the chest of Kenny Young. The linebacker picked off the pass and returned it 79 yards for a touchdown to give the Rams a 17-0 lead mere seconds into the second quarter.
The Patriots showed some heart in responding, driving deep into Rams' territory. But after setting up with a first-and-goal from the 6-yard line, Josh McDaniels dialed up four rushing plays, and the Patriots turned it over on downs after a failed option run from the 2-yard line.
The Patriots came up with a defensive stop on the ensuing Rams drive, and the Patriots drove 57 yards before settling for a Nick Folk field goal. The kick was successful, thus saving the Patriots from being shut out in a first half for the first time since Jacoby Brissett started against the Bills in Week 4 of the 2016 season.
Coming out of halftime, the Patriots drove 33 yards but couldn't convert a third-and-8. Bill Belichick opted to punt from the Rams' 42-yard line, which was likely the right decision. Nevertheless, it proved to be a painful one.
The Rams took over at their own 10-yard line and drove the full length of the field over a span of 9:42 to stretch the lead to 24-3. Goff got Akeem Spence to jump into the neutral zone on a fourth-and-1 at the Patriots' 4-yard line before throwing a touchdown to Cooper Kupp on the next snap.
That long drive essentially ended the game, and the Patriots couldn't muster much offense in the fourth quarter to even make it interesting. The Rams won the game to improve to 9-4 on the year, extending their lead in the NFC West.
The loss drops the Patriots to 6-7 on the year and all but eliminates them from any potential postseason contention. They'll next get to work next weekend in Miami to end their three-game road stretch.
